


A Million, Million Suns

by Soozen



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ATLA WLW Week 2020, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bloodbending (Avatar), F/F, Friendship, Late Night Conversations, Mai (Avatar)-Centric, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:42:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26623096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soozen/pseuds/Soozen
Summary: When Azula goes to sleep, Mai and Ty Lee stay up and talk.Takes place during season two, with a bit of canon divergence.
Relationships: Mai & Ty Lee (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	A Million, Million Suns

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt 'pining' for ATLA WLW Week 2020.

Mai was not happy.

Not that this was necessarily new; Mai had not been content with her life in, well, longer than she could recall. Probably not since the last time Zuko had spoken with her (and not simply because Azula had used her to play a trick on him). But that had been years ago. Being discontent had been her norm for quite some time.

But things had undoubtedly become worse since Azula had shown up in her life again. Though they had been friendly, amicable even when the princess had arrived in New Ozai, Mai had only felt dread. Azula never brought good tidings, only cruelty disguised by friendship.

Azula didn’t keep friends. She might refer to her and Ty Lee as such, but it was all an act. And as long as Azula insisted on keeping up that façade, Mai would too.

It kept Ty Lee happy, at the very least.

Mai had a hard time reading Ty Lee. Sometimes, the way she spoke, those oddly cryptic replies ( _“Azula called a little louder,”_ for one), it seemed that she knew to watch what she said and did around Azula, that she was playing the princess just as much as Azula was playing with her. But sometimes….

Sometimes, Mai was convinced that she was just as empty-headed as she appeared to be.

“Do you think stars are just smaller suns?”

Mai Looked across the camp at Ty Lee, who was gazing up at the night sky. It was only the two of them; Azula had retired to their tank train some time ago, complaining about a headache. That was fine. Though Mai was not one to let her guard down easily around anyone, the air between her and Ty Lee had lost nearly all its tension in the princess’s absence.

She looked up from the knife she’d been sharpening, to raise an eyebrow at Ty Lee. “What are you talking about?”

“The stars.” The acrobat missed the barely-there incredulous look Mai had sent her way, her eyes on the sky as she hugged her knees to her chest. “What are they?”

“….They’re _stars_ , Ty Lee.”

“I know, but what is a star? I think they’re like the sun, but so tiny. Teeny, teeny tiny suns. What do you think?”

Mai didn’t bother to suppress a sigh. “I don’t care.”

That was the wrong thing to say. As she watched, Ty Lee’s body visibly _drooped_. Ever flexible, Mai was never surprised to find Ty Lee twisted in a strange position, but this was so odd, to see her become almost like water dripping downward, the way she moved so fluidly; shoulders sagging, arms going slack around her legs as her chin fell upon her knees.

She had never been able to confirm it, but Mai had a strong impression that Ty Lee fed off of attention, that it somehow gave her energy, kept her going. It would certainly explain the circus, after all. There was far less attention to be found here, in the company of only Mai and Azula, especially with Azula so focused on the mission at hand.

Mai didn’t mind talking with Ty Lee. She was the closest thing she had ever had to a friend. And while the conversations were often frivolous, they were also entertaining; but Mai knew better than to talk freely in front of Azula.

Still, this particular topic held no interest to her. Celestial bodies had never entertained her, not that she had ever given them much thought. But, Ty Lee on the other hand….

It was always difficult to see her upset in any form. The positive outlook she always projected was such a stark clash to the slight sulking that was occurring on the other side of the fire.

“Maybe….” Mai sighed again, unable to believed that she was going to continue this conversation. “Maybe they’re small moons.”

It was like a switch had flipped; Ty Lee regained her straight posture, but had turned to face Mai, her features bright as she looked at her. “You think so? That would be neat! Though…..” Her nose scrunched in a delightful way as she thought, as it always did whenever she gave pause to anything. “The moon goes through phases. Stars don’t. Or maybe they’re just so small we can’t see the phases? But then there’d be times when we wouldn’t see them at all.”

Mai grunted. There was so little she could actually contribute to this topic. “It’s not like we’ll ever know.”

“I suppose so. But isn’t it fun to think about? A million, million tiny suns above us; it’s kind of romantic right?”

Romantic. Inwardly, Mai agreed. The sun was a source of life and warmth, the very reason why their nation was so great. To imagine that even the night sky contained something so spectacular, it was very romantic indeed, something to share with someone close.

But no words would come.

Perhaps Ty Lee could feel the conversation stopping, for she let out a wistful sigh, before standing up. “I’m going to turn in. Are you coming?”

With a shake of her head, Mai answered with a simple, “No.”

She watched Ty Lee shrug, and return to the tank train, before turning her eyes up to the sky, to the millions of tiny suns.

* * *

“Mai?”

Once again, it was just the two of them at the fire. Azula had turned in early, and Mai was sort of hoping that this would be the new pattern. It would allow some reprieve in the evening. This time, Mai was stretched out on her back in the grass, taking advantage of the fact that her mother wasn’t around to witness such a careless act. The night was clear again, and maybe due to Ty Lee’s question the night before, she was considering the stars.

When Ty Lee spoke her name, Mai merely grunted, not bothering to look over at Ty Lee. She would know that she’d heard her and would continue speaking. It was her way.

“What do you think is going to happen if we find Prince Zuko?”

“Azula is going to tell him it’s time to come home.”

There was a long pause from Ty Lee, long enough that Mai turned her gaze from the sky to where Ty Lee was sitting. “What?”

Ty Lee fiddled with her fingers, her brow furrowed so deeply that it set a harsh shadow on her face. “Isn’t it…. Isn’t it weird how we’re the only ones looking for him and his uncle? Wouldn’t you think there would be a whole lot more people searching for him, since the Fire Lord wants him home?”

It was strange, and Mai had considered it. The thought had come to her the moment Azula had explained the mission she had recruited them for. But the only conclusion she could come to was that this was a secretive mission, but that didn’t make much sense either. Why be tracking him in secret? Unless he was held captive, but Azula surely would have mentioned that.

Or else Zuko did not want to return home, but Mai couldn’t imagine a world where that could possibly be true.

Ty Lee seemed to be having the same thoughts.

“Do you think we’re going to have to fight him?” Her voice had dropped low for this question, as if she was afraid to even ask it.

Mai shifted back to return to her stargazing. “No.” No, because she didn’t think she _could_ fight Zuko. “Azula is just being careful.”

That seemed to placate the acrobat. “Right, Azula is always on top of everything.” A pause, short this time. “Are you excited to see Zuko again?”

“I guess.”

“What?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty Lee straighten in surprise. “But wasn’t there something going on between you right before?”

Mai sighed. Ty Lee wasn’t exactly…wrong, but she certainly wasn’t correct. Her parents had long been pushing for Mai to forge a connection with the crown prince, eager to see their own placement in the world advance through their daughter. It hadn’t helped at all that it was obvious to anyone around them that Zuko had something of a crush on her, and her parents had latched onto that, finding excuses for Mai to spend more and more time at the palace with Azula, in the hopes that something would happen.

And something had. Zuko had been her first kiss. It had been…different. At least, different from what Mai had expected it to be. She enjoyed spending time with Zuko; he was a lot nicer than his sister, after all, and she supposed that he was sort of cute for a boy. But when he kissed her, she hadn’t felt much of anything. Just the strangeness of someone else’s lips pushing against her own, their noses bumping together.

It wasn’t _awful_ , but definitely not what she had thought kisses were supposed to be like. Then again, her mother had stressed enough that it was not nearly as important for her to be interested in Zuko as it was for him to be drawn to her. So maybe, she had thought at the time, it was normal for kisses to be so bland and weird.

“If you want to call it that,” Mai sighed in response. This wasn’t a conversation she really wanted to have. Without giving Ty Lee the opportunity to ask anymore questions, Mai stood, dusting herself off. “I’m going to bed.”

“Oh?” There was disappointment in Ty Lee’s voice, but only in that one syllable, before she leapt to her feet. “Wait- I just have to douse the fire.”

Mai did as she’d requested, remaining where she stood while watching Ty Lee fetch the water bucket.

Zuko may have been her first kiss, but he certainly wasn’t the first she had feelings for.

* * *

Ty Lee was much quieter the next evening, even after Azula retired, but this was no surprise to Mai. The events that had transpired earlier were very…troubling. More for Ty Lee than anyone else.

They had managed to track down the Avatar again. A fight occurred, as had the others before; Azula chasing after the Avatar himself, as Mai and Ty Lee took on the others. It was a fight they were sure to win, this time; they had nearly bested the Avatar’s friends the previous times, only being taken by surprise by the sky bison. This time, they had no bison.

Why the bison was gone was not worth thinking about, mostly because Ty Lee would almost certainly have more than a dozen theories as to where the beast had run off to and Mai would hear about them all later. What did matter was taking advantage of the situation.

But the waterbender had done something to Ty Lee, something the boy with the boomerang called ‘bloodbending.’ Mai hadn’t understood what she was seeing, as she had the boy in a tight grip, pinned to a tree with a blade to his neck, warning the waterbender to stop fighting. The earthbender had already been immobilized by Ty Lee.

But Ty Lee had gone frozen, eyes wide, her body stiff, as the waterbender taunted her, that it was her turn to not be in control. It hadn’t made sense then, what she’d said, but it did now.

Somehow, using her bending, the waterbender was able to control Ty Lee. And the waterbender used it as a threat against Mai, twisting Ty Lee’s arm back until Ty Lee cried out in pain, and it became horrifically obvious that unless Mai let the boy go, she was going to break Ty Lee’s arm.

So they had gotten away, as usual. Ty Lee had collapsed to the ground the moment the waterbender released her, only a second before they had run off to find wherever Azula had chased the Avatar off to.

Ty Lee hadn’t wanted to talk about it then. She’d been strangely quiet, even as Mai had checked to ensure she had no lasting injuries.

Once regrouping with Azula, who had failed to capture the Avatar, Mai had been the one to explain what had happened, with Ty Lee only nodding to confirm the events. Azula had been curious, had made a comment that they would have to be careful in the future, that the waterbender was to be of higher concern than they’d realized.

That was the last it was spoken of, and Ty Lee continued on throughout the day quieter than she ever had been. It was unsettling. Ty Lee could be quiet, sure, but there was _always_ this cheerful sort of energy that surrounded her (not that Mai would ever admit to considering that there was something akin to an aura or an energy around her).

And so, now that they were alone around the fire, Mai did something she almost never did: initiate conversation.

“Ty Lee,” she said, just loud enough to jolt Ty Lee out of her own thoughts and look at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

They both knew exactly what she was referencing.

Across the fire, Ty Lee bit her lip, but didn’t shake her head. Mai watched her as she seemed to try to find her words.

“I don’t want to experience that again,” she finally spoke, her eyes on the flames. “It was…. It was so scary.”

She looked up at Mai, and Mai met her gaze, remaining silent. Ty Lee would continue if she wanted to. Ty Lee dealt with her feelings vocally. She would share whatever she was comfortable with.

True to her prediction, Ty Lee took a deep breath and said, “I couldn’t move all of the sudden. I tried, but it was like I was frozen. Except my body was moving, only not the way I wanted it to. I never want to feel that way again.”

“We’ll be more careful in the future,” Mai offered, to ease her fears. “We know to be careful around the waterbender.”

But Ty Lee didn’t seem eased by what Mai said. She cast her gaze down again, elbows brought in tight as she held her own hands. Mai watched her closely, before pushing for more.

“That’s not what’s bothering you.”

Ty Lee shook her head, and the sound of a sniffle carried across the fire. Judging by how still Ty Lee’s shoulders were, she wasn’t crying yet. Whenever the tears flowed, her whole body reacted to it.

Mai did not want Ty Lee to reach that point.

Providing comfort and an ear to listen were not her strong points. Frankly, Mai did not know exactly what were, besides her knife throwing skills. But that wasn’t exactly helpful in situations like this. More than ever, she found herself wishing she had the same interpersonal skills that Ty Lee had. Ty Lee could talk to anyone about anything, could relate to anyone, found it easy to comfort others.

Mai struggled to do so even now, with someone she cared about.

Still, she was going to try.

She came around the fire to sit beside Ty Lee, who was barely holding herself together. Her body was trembling, a clear sign that she was losing the fight to keep her tears reigned in.

“What is it?”

Again, Ty Lee sniffled, and brushed the back of a hand against her eyes; it came back wet. “It was scary, Mai,” she whispered, eyes on the ground. “It was so scary, I can’t even describe how awful it is to- to not be able to move when you’re trying to, to be completely out of control of your own body.”

There were tears in her eyes, sparkling in the light of the fire, as she looked up at Mai.

“Is that what they feel when I chi block them?”

Oh. Mai found herself speechless- not because she didn’t care to contribute, but because, _Agni_ , what could she possibly say to that?

“I always thought- I thought chi blocking was okay,” Ty Lee continued, wiping the now freely flowing tears off her cheek. “That it didn’t hurt anyone, it just- it just makes them unable to fight. I never thought what it would be like to not be able to move.”

And then the tears erupted, and Ty Lee buried her face in her hands as she sobbed. Hesitantly, awkwardly, Mai reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder, the very closest she could bring herself to initiating a hug. But Ty Lee took that touch as an invitation, throwing her arms around Mai’s neck, and Mai found herself enveloped in a tight hug. She wanted to loosen up, to hold Ty Lee just as securely as she was being held, but could only bring herself to gently rest both hands on Ty Lee’s back.

They stayed that way for some time, until Ty Lee calmed down, and though Mai would never admit it, not to a single soul, when Ty Lee pulled away, wiping her eyes, she could only mourn the loss of contact.

“Thank you.” Ty Lee looked at her, a strange combination of eyes red from crying and a pure smile on her lips. Her cheeks were still wet, and there was the urge to wipe the tears away with her thumb. Mai ignored it. “You’re a good friend.”

Why Ty Lee felt that way, Mai would never know.

“I’m—I think I’m going to go to be now,” Ty Lee continued, still smiling at her, and then, catching Mai completely by surprise, she pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you, really.”

Mai didn’t respond as Ty Lee stood up, so shocked at that simple kiss, and even more taken back by how she was reacting to it. Her heart had no reason to beat faster, nor could she understand why she’d had the sudden urge to grab Ty Lee’s hand and keep her from going into the tank train, to keep her with her.

Her lips had felt so soft, the kiss itself gentle, she could hardly feel it anymore.

Though she wanted to, dearly.

* * *

Another night, a few days later.

“Did you like living in New Ozai?” Ty Lee inquired. This time, they were seated beside each other, cups of tea in hand that Ty Lee had brewed.

“It was fine,” Mai shrugged. “Boring. We were the only high society Fire Nation there. It wasn’t as if I had anyone to see. Just my family.”

“At least Tom-Tom’s cute,” Ty lee pointed out brightly, that optimistic smile on her face, but at her brother’s name, Mai froze, swallowing.

She’d not seen Tom-Tom since the fight against the Avatar and his friends in New Ozai. Azula had ushered them out of the city without recovering her brother. Not knowing what happened to him was excruciating.

As ditzy as Ty Lee appeared to be, one thing she never missed were other’s emotions; she could hone in on exactly what Mai was feeling, despite the passive mask Mai wore at all times. She could feel Ty Lee stiffen beside her, and her voice was soft, apologetic.

“I’m sure Tom-Tom’s okay. The Avatar and his friends really seemed to be trying to keep him safe while we were fighting them.”

Mai shut her eyes, breathing in slowly through her nose. The last that she’d seen of her brother, he was in the arms of that Water Tribe boy. “It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine.

“I bet they gave Tom-Tom back,” Ty Lee suggested. “They left without the king, didn’t they? The Avatar could have taken the king, but he didn’t. I bet he came back later, after he left and he felt safe to bring Tom-Tom home.”

Mai wished she held Ty Lee’s optimism. The guilt still ran deep of how she had failed to see her brother home safe.

Part of her tried to reason that it was Azula’s fault. After all,It was Azula who had suggested that her brother was (and it almost physically _hurt_ to think of him this way) worth less than the king of Omashu. But Mai had chosen to go along with Azula. It had always been safer to do whatever the princess wished, after all.

But if she had disagreed, she would know for certain where her brother was.

“Hey.” Ty Lee shifted closer, so they were touching, arms to shoulder. “He’s okay. I’m sure of it.”

Mai flicked her eyes over to look at Ty Lee’s ever positive face. “Why do you think that?”

And Ty Lee smiled like the answer was obvious. “Because of their _auras_ , Mai. Their auras were much too bright and interconnected to be evil people.”

There was no possibility of not rolling her eyes at that statement. “They’re the _enemy_ , Ty Lee. Of course they’re evil.”

Ty Lee responded with a small hum, looking back up at the sky. “Maybe so, but they had kind auras. Kinder than A—I mean, kinder than a lot of people’s.”

That was surprising. Ty Lee nearly had a slip of the tongue, and Mai pressed her lips together, considering what Ty Lee almost had said. She knew better than to press her. After that near mistake, she’d be more careful with her words.

“You’re right,” Mai sighed in agreement. “They probably are kinder than some people.”

A lot of people were kinder than Azula. Maybe Tom-Tom _was_ safely at home.

“How about,” Ty Lee said, looking back to Mai, “when we’re done with all this-“ And she waved her arms about, as if gesturing to the whole of their mission. “-we’ll go back to New Ozai, and you can introduce me to Tom-Tom.”

“You’ve met Tom-Tom.”

“No, that was when he was just born,” Ty Lee pointed out. “He didn’t have a personality yet! He’s two now, and I want to know if he’s just like you.”

Mai snorted quietly, more just an exhale through her nose. Tom-Tom was much too lively, too expressive to be like her. Even still, she nodded. “Sure. He’d probably like to meet you.”

With a broad smile that was distinctly Ty Lee’s, she grinned at Mai, before resting her head on Mai’s shoulder. Mai’s eyes widened, looking sharply down at the top of Ty Lee’s head. This closeness was strange, foreign, and…not unwelcome. Keeping her expression plain, she continued to look down at Ty Lee, as if she might be able to see something, to read her face for what was going through her mind.

This felt nice, this contact and connection, and she wished that she were more comfortable reciprocating, showing any kind of affection as easily as Ty Lee was. If she were less stiff, she might test the waters to see why these small motions pulled a stronger reaction from her than any kiss with Zuko had.

Instead, she remained still, allowing Ty Lee to rest against her.

“It’s something nice to look forward to,” Ty Lee said, and placed her hand upon Mai’s, gently curling her fingers around hers.

Mai swallowed, but slowly, gently, she squeezed Ty Lee’s hand as they sat under the night sky dotted with a million, million tiny suns.

“It is.”

**Author's Note:**

> So the light canon-divergence is just that Katara must have learned how to bloodbend sometime in season two. I have no explanation for this, so don't think about this too much.
> 
> This fic was inspired by a couple of things. The first being ATLA WLW Week, I decided to try my hand at a new pairing, so I opted for Mailee. The second is [Kindling](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25843906/chapters/62788003) by SumDumMuffin, which contains Ty Lee being bloodbent, and I was kind of intrigued by that idea. You should definitely check out Kindling though; it's a delight.


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